Davis Cup tie
\n ISLAMABAD
\nPakistan\u2019s Davis Cup hopes were dimmed as Paraguay sealed a 3-1 victory in their World Group II tie, but young Huzaifa Abdul Rehman emerged as a bright spot, showing grit and resilience against a higher-ranked opponent.
\nThe tie opened with a thriller as Huzaifa pushed Paraguay\u2019s Alex Santino Nunez to three sets, according to information received here from Asunci\u00f3n, the capital of Paraguay.
\nDespite losing the opener 6-1, the 22-year-old Pakistani roared back to level the contest 7-5 before going down 6-4 in the decider. \u201cI felt I was right there in the match. If I had converted a couple of break points in the third set, the result could have been different,\u201d Huzaifa told APP after the match. \u201cBut this is the level I want to play at \u2014 tough matches where every point counts.\u201d
\nMuzammil Murtaza, however, found the going tough against Paraguay\u2019s top-ranked Daniel Vallejo, suffering a 6-0, 6-2 defeat that left Pakistan trailing 0-2.
\nThe experienced doubles pair of Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Aqeel Khan briefly raised hopes by taking the first set 6-3 against Vallejo and Martin Antonio Vergara. Yet the Paraguayans stormed back to win 3-6, 6-1, 6-3, clinching the tie for their side. With the overall contest already settled, Huzaifa returned to the court on Sunday and finally gave Pakistan something to cheer about. Displaying remarkable composure, he defeated Martin Antonio Vergara 2-6, 6-4, 10-5 in the reverse singles.
\n\u201cI just wanted to fight for every point and finish on a high note for Pakistan,\u201d Huzaifa said. \u201cThis win gives me confidence that I can compete with international players at this stage.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Davis Cup tie ISLAMABAD Pakistan\u2019s Davis Cup hopes were dimmed as Paraguay sealed a 3-1 victory in their World Group II tie, but young Huzaifa Abdul Rehman emerged as a bright spot, showing grit and resilience against a higher-ranked opponent. The tie opened with a thriller as Huzaifa pushed Paraguay\u2019s Alex Santino Nunez to three […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-502864","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n